Trials Torque

Published: 07th January 2009

THE closing date for entries to the Silver Jubilee Pre-65 Scottish Two Day Trial, 2009, which will take place on Friday/ Saturday, May 1/2, has now passed. There were a record 339 would-be entries with the secretary by the closing date of Friday, December 12, 2008, plus a few more late ones which were not included in the inevitable ballot which took place on Friday, December 19.

Published: 07th January 2009

FOLLOWING all the excitement of a winter of musical saddles with Michael Brown having swapped his TTT Beta for a factory Sherco and his good pal and fellow professional trials rider James Dabill back on a Gas Gas two-stroke after his dalliance with Future Montesa 4T we finally get down to a head to head on Sunday, writes BARRY ROBINSON!

Published: 02nd January 2009

IRELAND stages the opening two rounds of the 2009 SPEA FIM World Trials Championship with a double-header weekend on April 4/5 – and at a brand new venue, Donards Forest, Newcastle, thanks to the organising Lightweight Club and the local Down Council.

Published: 02nd January 2009

YOUNG Yorkshire prospect, Jonathan Richardson, moves into the Adult trialling ranks for MRS Sherco in 2009 to ride the British Solo Championship series, as many FIM and Euro events as he can fit in, plus the Scottish Six Days Trial and the Scott Trial. Simon Halloway, resident manager of the Quality Living Health and Fitness Club at Scotch Corner, near Darlington, two miles from the Richardson farm, offered Jonathan training facilities at the exclusive gymnasium.

Published: 18th December 2008

TRADITIONALLY the Vic Brittain Trophy National Trial opens up the British national scene in January and nothing changes in 2009 but on Sunday, January 4, the old-established event will surface with a new-look traditional course instead of the Farley Quarry venue of recent years, writes Barry Robinson.

Published: 11th December 2008

THE Eboracum club will be staging its ever-popular Colonial National Trial on Sunday, February 8, next year, and regs for this event, which always hits its entry limit, ought to be in the T+MX Regulations Available columns this week. Coinciding with the regulations release is news that there will be a new clerk of course for the Colonial and also a new event secretary.

Published: 11th December 2008

BVM, the mega trials emporium down in Stroud, Glos, staged its popular annual trials test day last week at a new venue and as usual the day was a roaring success. Despite the cold weather, a good turnout of trials riders converged on the venue where ALL the trials importers had gathered to display and put up for test the full range of their wares and so you could try Gas Gas, Sherco, Beta, Scorpa and Montesa back-to-back, if you wished.

Published: 04th December 2008

JOHN Lampkin has agreed for multi British Champion, Steve Saunders, to carry on promoting Beta through riding selected events and the trials schools that he runs in his area and also throughout the UK for 2009. Steve will of course be riding a nice shiny new EVO.

Published: 04th December 2008

THE Edinburgh and DMC committee responsible for running the Silver Jubilee Pre-65 Scottish Two Day Trial, 2009, which will take place on Friday/ Saturday, May 1/2, is very pleased to announce that Serco have been accepted as the main sponsor for this prestigious event. As many of you will know already, Serco supplies many quality spare parts for Pre-65 bikes and as they are involved in the Pre-65 scene they make an ideal main sponsor.This is a very welcome situation for the committee who can now concentrate on making the Silver Jubilee Trial the best yet!

Published: 27th November 2008

BRITAIN’S only International Indoor Arena Trial, Sheffield 2009, will kick-off to wild applause on Saturday, January 3, at the Sheffield Arena. We recently met-up with Neil Crosswaite – who along with Martin Lampkin makes up promoters Avondale Management – in an eerily empty Sheffield Arena, to talk about the upcoming World Indoor Trials Championship opening round when the venue will come alive...

Published: 27th November 2008

WITH the build-up to Britain’s only International Indoor Trial, Sheffield 2009, which will take place on Saturday, January 3, it is worth noting that the battle for the 2008 Spanish Indoor title is going into the final round with the three main protagonists, all of whom will be in the opening World Indoor Championship round at Sheffield, locked together on exactly the same number of points!

Published: 19th November 2008

FOLLOWING weeks of speculation, James Dabill and John Shirt have confirmed that James is switching to Gas Gas! Terms have been agreed and Dibs will ride for the Gas Gas factory team and Team JST Gas Gas UK for the 2009 season. James will be supported once again by Jack Lee at both the World Trials Championship and the British Trials Championship as he returns full time to the British series.

Published: 19th November 2008

ALEXZ Wigg led the infamous STAND-ON-IT team to a fantastic win in the recent superb but hard Jersey two day trial. Alex led from start to finish in the Expert class, backed up in second place by British Novagar Champion James Fry with Southern Superstar Andy Blackman in third place to complete a 1-2-3 and win the coveted Stroud Valley team award.

Published: 13th November 2008

ADAM Raga was crowned 2008 Spanish Trials Champion on Sunday when he finished second in the final round of the series at La Nucia, Alicante. The Gas Gas rider finished runner-up to arch-rival, Repsol Montesa’s Toni Bou, on the day which was easily enough to se him retain his home title.

Published: 13th November 2008

BACK in 2007, the ACU Trials and Enduro Committee made a decision to change the emphasis for both the Trials and Enduro Under 23 squads more to the form of direct financial support for rider development. According to the ACU, this system has been a great success and will be continued for 2009. The support offered under the scheme will be available to a limited number of squad members rather than the method of home-based training for larger numbers adopted prior to 2007.

Published: 06th November 2008

IT’S Northern Experts time again and on Saturday morning, at Wildboarclough, that scenic hamlet south of Buxton, a total of 130 riders will assemble to ride the 61st Northern Experts Trial, thanks to the Manchester 17 club, writes Barry Robinson.

Published: 06th November 2008

MRS Sherco – AKA the Rathmell family – moved into Hook Woods, just outside Guildford, Surrey, last weekend, for the tenth ‘Sherco Weekend Extravaganza’ and the first extravaganza to be held in the ‘deep south’ as they called it. The idea is simple, you get all the dealers together in one place, chat about the 2009 bikes and get as many of the public in the woods test-riding the bikes while having a good time.

Published: 30th October 2008

FOLLOWING the opening round of the new British Supercross Championship at the Sheffield Arena last Saturday, which was a success despite the incessant doom and gloom mongering by the national press, the next major motorcycling event at the venue will be the Sheffield Indoor Trial.

Published: 30th October 2008

BACKTOR beckons again! Is it a year since that dreaded hill, exposed to wind, rain and snow, in north Derbyshire had to be climbed in order to watch the final moves in the national Peak Trial?

Published: 23rd October 2008

GRAHAM Jarvis went into the record books on Saturday by becoming the first person to take eight Scott victories in this historic event that goes right back to 1914 when Frank Philip won – on a Scott. And Graham, mounted on a two-stroke Sherco this year, has set Standard Time on four occasions.